Weekend Reader: #GreenToo
MTA/flickr

Weekend Reader: #GreenToo

We sometimes think of scientists, environmental communicators, and others as being above the human failings shown by others. They're not.

The #metoo movement has taken down Hollywood icons and power players; news media superstars; standup comics; politicians.

Here we cover science and environmental news. Don't think for a minute that this realm is walled off from reprehensible behavior.


New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, felled by four accusers who told their stories to the New Yorker, was arguably the nation's leading environmental law enforcer in the Age of Trump.

Schneiderman, along with Massachusetts A.G. Maura Healey, sued Exxon to determine the depths of its private knowledge of climate change while it publicly supported climate denial. He was one of multiple state A.G.'s who battled Trump Administration rollbacks.

He made no delay in resigning, announcing his departure three hours after the New Yorker piece was released, saying he "strongly" contest(ed) the allegations against him. Conservatives made no delay in pouncing on Schneiderman's apparent hypocrisy. Just days before his resignation, he praised the #metoo movement as "extraordinary" in an interview. And his interim successor as New York A.G., vowed that Schneiderman's work would continue without him.

Then there's Rachendra Pachauri, the charismatic head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He resigned in 2015 after allegations, and police charges, that he harassed, stalked, and intimidated a female employee at his Indian nonprofit. The case is still unresolved.

Trevor Fitzgibbon, a high-powered PR consultant for progressive groups like NARAL and Move-On and environmental NGO's including the Sierra Club and Greenpeace, shuttered his PR firm in late 2015 after allegations that he propositioned and groped female employees and job candidates. Fitzgibbon denied the most serious charges, and prosecutors dropped an investigation into them.

University of Illinois anthropologist Kathryn Clancy has made a detailed study of what she sees as sexual harassment in space-related sciences.

Investigative work by High Country News revealed widespread harassment in the National Park Service last year. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has promised action to address the problems.

We sometimes think of scientists, environmental communicators, and others as being above the human failings shown by others. They're not. We're not. It's Us Too.

Top Weekend News

As close ties between fossil fuel billionaires Charles and David Koch and the Trump Administration come more to light, a group of Democratic Senators led by Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) is demanding answers about how much influence the Koch brothers have had in shaping key federal policies. (PRI's Living On Earth.)

Carlos Alvarado, newly-inaugurated President of Costa Rica, announces his country will be the first to ban fossil fuels. (The Independent).

The wind isn't what it used to be. Scientists say surface wind speeds across the planet have fallen by as much as 25% since the 1970s. The eerie phenomenon – dubbed 'stilling' – is believed to be a consequence of global warming, and may impact everything from agriculture to the liveability of our cities. (Cosmos).

From the New Orleans Advocate: Utility giant Entergy tries to deflect blame for hiring actors to pose as supporters at a key public meeting.

Veteran science reporter Miles O'Brien that U.S. audiences are starved for information on climate change. (The National, UAE)

It's only one plastic bag, but.....

It was found at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest spot in the world's oceans (National Geographic).

Podcasts of Note

PRI's Living On Earth: EHN's Peter Dykstra and Steve Curwood on a report that shows the US is now the globe's biggest oil producer, and US transportation emits more greenhouse gases than electricity generation. The pair also discuss how mercury from coal-fired power plants is polluting rice in China, and take a trip back to 1872 and a landmark mining law that has had a profound and lasting impact on the American West.

Opinion Pieces & Editorials

Former Clinton Interior Dept. official Paul Bledsoe in the NYT: Trump's fuel efficiency rollback will hurt drivers.

An op-ed in the Wilmington (N.C.) News-Star calls out the state legislature's obeisance to Big Pork.

Trumpweek

A brief dissertation by Kevin Drum of Mother Jones on why EPA's Scott Pruitt still has a job.

From Science Magazine: Trump Admin. quietly cancels a NASA climate science program.

In a move that seems out of character for the anti-regulatory Pruitt EPA, the agency said it's moving to regulate a paint stripping product linked to consumer deaths.

Oops. Scott Pruitt dined with a Catholic Cardinal accused of sexual abuse, and it was omitted from his published schedule.

Alaska oil & gas drilling pipeline with snowy mountains in background.
Credit: cec72/ BigStock Photo ID: 21712223

Trump administration moves to revive controversial drilling plan in protected Alaska wilderness

The Trump administration is moving to scrap environmental protections in Alaska’s North Slope, opening up millions of acres of fragile wilderness to oil drilling and mining.

Lisa Friedman reports for The New York Times.

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A row of wind turbines in a field on a sunny day.

US Department of Energy cancels billions in clean energy and carbon capture grants

The U.S. Department of Energy has pulled $3.7 billion in grants for carbon capture and industrial decarbonization, halting dozens of projects that had bipartisan backing and were designed to cut emissions from cement, chemicals, and food production.

Jake Spring reports for The Washington Post.

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a factory with a lot of glowing molten steel.

Trump’s reversal on U.S. Steel sale raises fears of long-term coal dependence in Pennsylvania

President Donald Trump celebrated the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel on Friday, a move that could lock in coal-powered steel production for another generation despite environmental and economic shifts away from the fuel.

Kiley Bense reports for Inside Climate News.

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Large gray concrete columns.

Charleston climate case sparks national security debate in federal court

A South Carolina judge questioned whether a local lawsuit accusing oil companies of climate deception could undermine national security, as President Trump’s executive order claims.

Karen Zraick reports for The New York Times.

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Scientist wearing purple gloves looking at samples in a tray.
Credit: CDC/Unsplash

Trump administration hands political appointees sweeping authority over federal science

A Trump executive order claims to champion scientific integrity but scientists warn it centralizes political power over research and undermines independence.

Carolyn Y. Johnson reports for The Washington Post.

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An oil pipeline stretching across a landscape.

Trump officials court support in Alaska for drilling and massive gas pipeline plan

The Trump administration sent top officials to Alaska this week to advance oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and revive a $44 billion natural gas pipeline project aimed at exports to Asia.

Becky Bohrer reports for The Associated Press.

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Wildfire with billowing smoke rising from the flames.

Wildfire smoke from Canada worsens air pollution across central U.S. as alerts expand

Smoke from dozens of uncontrolled Canadian wildfires has drifted into the central U.S., triggering air quality alerts from North Dakota to Georgia and prompting warnings for people with health vulnerabilities.

Aria Bendix reports for NBC News.

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From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

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